Pacific Grove picked for fiber-optic network

PACIFIC GROVE >> An English-backed company wants to make Pacific Grove one of two California cities it wires with a high-speed fiber-optics network.

The network, which would offer internet speeds 20 times faster than existing systems, is being offered to the city as a large, very expensive test market.

"They are building these networks on spec," said Kurt Overmeyer, city economics development director.

The Pacific Grove City Council on Wednesday will consider approving development and license agreements with SiFi Networks that would allow it to install its "fiber-to-the-curb" network throughout the city.

The company, which has wired communities in the United Kingdom but not in the U.S., would spend an estimated $30 million to $40 million to wire Pacific Grove. "It's a huge investment," Overmeyer said.

The cost to the city would be virtually nothing — aside from some staff time checking plans and providing technical advice, a council report says.

"I can't figure out the downside. The worst case would be they build part and have to sell off to someone else," Overmeyer said.

The upside would be to give Pacific Grove a new network with world-class speeds, capable of serving many existing and emerging technology businesses that are heavy data users.

"It really changes things for our residents and our business community," Overmeyer said. Even in Silicon Valley, there aren't many systems like this.

He estimated it would take eight to 18 months to finish installing the fiber-optic lines in city streets, using relatively unobtrusive methods that would create only "minor disruptions."

The proposed contract would require completion within two years. A council report says the project would be exempt from the state environmental quality act. "There is not an environmental impact of any measure. You are just adding pipe underground where there already are lots of pipes," he said.

Other telecommunication companies would be able to lease bandwidth on the system. While there have been community concerns raised about electromagnetic radiation from wireless communications, Overmeyer said that likely wouldn't be the case with the fiber-optic system

"There's no emf radiation in fiber-optic" transmission, he said.

SiFi Networks is backed by the Pickstock Group in London, an international construction company, a council report says. The company said this month that only 7.7 percent of U.S. broadband subscribers have fiber-optic connections, ranking the country 14th in the world.